Maryland's Montgomery County schools decided parents should have no input on what their children are taught.
They used a curriculum to undermine families' religious beliefs.
Now those parents fought back and struck a massive blow against political indoctrination in the classroom.
Mahmoud v. Taylor: The Fight Montgomery County Picked With Religious Parents
This fight started in 2022, when Montgomery County schools slipped a series of sexual ideology storybooks into the English curriculum for kids as young as pre-kindergarten.
These weren't reading comprehension tools or lessons in critical thinking – they were ideological weapons aimed at the youngest, most impressionable children in the building.
One book – "Pride Puppy" – was designed for preschoolers and encouraged them to search for images of underwear, leather, and drag queens at a pride parade.
Another, "Born Ready," told kindergarteners that doctors "guess about gender" at birth.
The Supreme Court later confirmed what every parent in that county already knew – the books were designed to "disrupt" children's thinking about sexuality and gender, not educate them.
When parents found out, the school board initially allowed opt-outs – then reversed course in March 2023, telling families they would no longer receive any notice and that their children had no choice but to participate.
One board member justified stripping parents of their rights by claiming opt-outs based on religious beliefs were just teaching kids "another reason to hate another person."
That's when the lawsuits started.
A coalition of Muslim, Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox families – represented by Becket, a religious liberty law firm – sued the board for violating their First Amendment rights.
Supreme Court Rules 6-3 for Parental Rights and Religious Freedom
The school board fought back hard.
A Biden-appointed federal judge sided with the board in 2023, concluding the parents hadn't proven the storybooks crossed the line into indoctrination.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling 2-1 in 2024.
The parents went straight to the Supreme Court.
On June 27, 2025, Justice Samuel Alito wrote the 6-3 opinion that ended the debate.
"The right of parents 'to direct the religious upbringing of their' children would be an empty promise if it did not follow those children into the public school classroom," Alito wrote.
Six conservative justices signed on: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Chief Justice Roberts.
Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented – the same three justices who think government bureaucrats should decide what your children believe.
The $1.5 Million Bill Arrives
This past week, Judge Boardman – the same Biden appointee who originally ruled against the parents – signed the settlement that ended the case.
Montgomery County must pay $1.5 million directly to the families.
The board is also on the hook for attorneys' fees – and Becket's lead attorney Eric Baxter declined to say how much that number is.
The district now operates under a permanent injunction and ongoing court supervision.
Under the terms, Montgomery County must notify every parent – not just the plaintiffs – in advance when any content touching on gender and sexuality will be taught at every grade level, and parents retain the right to remove their children from that instruction.
"Public schools nationwide are on notice: running roughshod over parental rights and religious freedom isn't just illegal – it's costly," Baxter said.
He called it "a lawsuit that never should've happened" and warned that lawyers across the country are watching for school districts that refuse to comply.
Other Schools Are Watching — And Parents Can Now Opt Out Nationwide
The $1.5 million is not the end of Montgomery County's financial pain.
Earlier in the same dispute, the district already paid $125,000 to resolve a related First Amendment lawsuit.
Combined with litigation costs that stretched to the Supreme Court, the total bill to taxpayers for one school board's defiance runs into the millions – and not one dollar came out of the pockets of the bureaucrats who made the decision.
The same people who stripped opt-out rights, called religious parents hateful, and spent years fighting families in court still collect their salaries.
Baxter didn't hold back after the settlement: "Lawyers will now be looking to enforce rights for parents against other schools that don't follow."
Mahmoud v. Taylor is now binding Supreme Court precedent – and a Massachusetts federal court already used it in January 2026 to rule in favor of a father who wanted to opt his kindergartener out of the same type of content.
School boards that bet ideological agenda-pushing outweighs constitutional rights are about to learn the same lesson Montgomery County just learned – one very expensive settlement at a time.
Sources:
- Eric Baxter, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Statement, Becket, February 20, 2026.
- Talia Richman, "MCPS Must Pay $1.5 Million to Families Over Storybook Lawsuit," The Baltimore Banner, February 20, 2026.
- Samantha Kamman, "Montgomery County Must Pay $1.5M to Religious Parents After Supreme Court Ruling," The Christian Post, February 23, 2026.
- "Montgomery County Forced to Pay Religious Families $1.5 Million After Supreme Court Ruling," Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, February 20, 2026.
- Justice Samuel Alito, Majority Opinion, Mahmoud v. Taylor, 606 U.S. 522, June 27, 2025.
- Washington Examiner Editorial, "Why Montgomery County Is Paying Millions to Parents," Washington Examiner, February 24, 2026.
- "Federal Court Reaffirms Parents' Right to Opt Out of LGBTQ Storybooks," Standing for Freedom Center, January 22, 2026.
